AMD Ryzen Expected Early March Following GDC Info Leak

Those holding off on purchasing a new system prior to AMD's Ryzen CPU launch got a nice little boost last week with the apparent (and this time unintentional) leak of a launch window. If accurate, the whole of AMD's Ryzen launch lineup and comprehensive third party motherboard range could in consumer hands before March 3rd, a little over six weeks away.

As reported by numerous sites, AMD have scheduled presentations regarding the technological aspects of Ryzen for the Game Developers Conference; unfortunately some of the summary information revealed a little more than was intended.

Note the phrase 'recently released' in that blurb - those are the key words which have got the internet all in a tizzy. GDC 2017 runs from February 27th through to March 3rd, so assuming that 'recently released' is accurate it seems that we will see Ryzen before March 3rd.

For those not in the know, GDC is a prestigious yearly event which gathers notable figures from around the games development industry and frequently showcases new technology as well as delving deeply into all aspects of its development. It is, in fact, a perfect launch location for a new system platform if they're trying to engage with tech-minded PC gamers and industry insiders.

AMD Zen Primer

Two other factors of Ryzen's release, pried out from AMD representatives at CES earlier this month, are also pertinent to the launch of Ryzen. Most importantly, SVP & GM of Computing and Graphics Jim Anderson stated in an interview with PCWorld that AMD are 'not interested in paper launches'; that means we should see hardware on retailer shelves come launch rather than waiting weeks for availability. Furthermore it was also revealed that the Ryzen launch will be comprehensive both in terms of the range of CPUs on offer - from entry level all the way to high-end gaming - and vendor motherboards.

AMD's Ryzen CPUs should be overclockable from the top to the bottom of the lineup, making them tempting buys for enthusiasts at a range of budgets as well as system integrators and conventional users. Overclocking will primarily be a restriction on the motherboard end instead (limited chiefly to those base on the X370 and B350 chipsets), whilst CPUs will be differentiated through a range of factors including core counts and Simultaneous Multi-threading support.

Whatever the status of the launch, more information will no-doubt be forthcoming in the coming weeks.